If We Ever Meet Again
by Laur Jeevas
Summary: What if...they met at the orphanage; but never got together? AU, no Kira. MattxOC
1. If We Ever Meet Again

"So," a very stoned Carys had her backside hanging out of the fridge as she hunted for something to eat. Her two housemates and best friends watched her; eyebrows arched. Why did she do this? She didn't need to smoke week "I'm sick of being single."

"This again?" Soar sighed, shaking her head. Her auburn hair bounced around her shoulders, and Angel rolled her eyes.

"Well! I don't like it! I fail at relationships." having given up on the fridge, Carys was now raiding the cupboard and sitting with cupcakes, stuffing her face "Seriously! Soar, you're engaged and Angel, you have a boyfriend."

"Well, it's not our fault," Angel snorted "You fail at relationships full stop, Car."

"Well, does your boyfriend have any friends? Ones that aren't pale, short and void of emotions?"

"Nate does have feelings! He prefers not to show them." Carys rolled her eyes at Angel's statement "And he has two friends a blonde and a redhead, and they're probably gay. They're never apart."

"Oh come on," Carys giggled "Gimme more details please...like names, ages...?"

"You know what? No. Not after the Matsuda incident, lady."

"Aww, what! That's so unfair, Soar." Carys pouted, crossing her arms "Why the hell not!"

"You broke that man, Carys Marie. You totally broke him. You knew he hated smoking of any sort, and you smoked right in front of him, and what happens? He passes out and breaks up with you. I still cannot look him in the eye."

Carys shrugged. It was life, these things happened, she supposed. Yawning, she got up and looked behind her "I'm going out tonight. It's Saturday and you guys are boring. I'm claiming the bathroom, and I'll be out in half an hour I guess. Toodles."

Carys wandered off, and both Soar and Angel looked at each other, exasperated "Jesus Christ, does she ever stop?"

"I have no idea."

–

Three hours later, and Carys was dressed up and ready to leave. She wore skinny jeans, knee high heeled boots and a nice t-shirt. Her hazel eyes were powdered in gold, and rimmed in black, and she smelt of a very girlie perfume. Soar and Angel stared, wondering why the hell she made so much effort, when she barely ever got any attention.

"Okay, I have my Blackberry. BBM or text me if you need me. I have my keys and money too, I'll see you later!" and with that, Carys vanished out the door and onto the cold street, making her way to the local club. She hadn't really been out much since Matsuda, and she hadn't been into the Lotus club for a long time. It was worth a try, she guessed. Paying her entry fee and making her way inside she stood at the bar, ordering a drink. She looked around and sighed.  
There was no one here worth the effort. It seemed to be a couples only thing.

"Why so sad, Carys?" Chippy, the barman asked her. She looked up and shrugged.

"Envious. I want that." she motioned to the dancing couples on the dancefloor and frowned. Chippy chuckled.

"I think tonight could be your lucky night." just as she said that, a body bumped into hers, and Carys' drink went everywhere.

"Oh, shit, sorry!" a redhead, with a very distinct Liverpudlian accent apologized and Carys stared, her heart catching in her throat "Let me buy you a new one!"

"Oh...t-thanks," she smiled. Why did she recognize him. She knew him from somewhere, and little did Carys know, he was thinking the same thing. He knew that accent, and he knew those eyes. Chippy snickered to himself. He was right, it had been her lucky night, and as he served their drinks, he could see the spark. The usually confident Carys had turned shy around this particular male, and it was interesting to watch.

"Do you come here much? I swear I've seen your face before..." the mysterious redhead asked her, and Carys smiled shyly.

"Now and again. You?"

It was his turn to smile "Now and again. I'm sorry, this is so rude, I don't even know your name; I'm Matt."

"Carys." she blushed as he took her hand, kissing it, her heart racing. She bit down her lip and looked up "Nice to meet you."

"And you too," he smiled, slowly letting go of her hand and sipping his drink "You dance?"

"Nah, not really," she shook her head, smiling "You?"

"Nah..."

Carys' night was spent talking to the handsome redhead, and when she arrived home, she ran straight to her room, Matt's number now in her phone.


	2. Fucking Hostile

"Shit, shit, shit!" Carys couldn't help but almost scream. After meeting the most amazing man ever, she went and lost his number, didn't she? What a complete idiot, she thought angrily to herself, almost snarling at anyone who even looked at her.  
Even Angel and Soar were taken aback by Carys' foul behaviour.

"All this because she lost some guy's number?" Angel muttered to Soar. Soar sighed, as heavy metal music boomed throughout the house.  
Carys always did this when she was angry. Metallica, Slayer Pantera...the heavier, the better, Carys had always muttered.

"I think she really liked him." Soar shook her head "Have you told her about tonight yet, Angel?

"Not yet. To be honest, I'm a little worried about telling her." Angel bit her lip, cringing "She'll freak out, and probably get worse, but at the same time, I don't want Nate to think bad things about me, because of her."

"I'll help you tell her?" Soar offered, half smiling. Angel's face lit up, and she dragged Soar, who suddenly regretted her offer, upstairs to Carys' room.

They knocked before opening the door into the dimly lit room. Carys was sitting with a cigarette hanging from her mouth, playing Call of Duty on her playstation. Even for Soar and Angel, entering Carys' room was a rarity, and Angel looked around the walls at the various posters of Bob Marley, metal bands and a few maps for games that hung there, and she could smell the cannabis smoke that hung around lazily.  
Angel sighed, before turning to her friend, who was still playing the game, but glancing sidewards every so often.

"What? Make it quick, I have a seventy two killstreak."

"Uhh...well...Car. Nate's coming over for dinner tonight, and he's bringing his friends, if you'd like to join us." Angel fiddled with the ends of her chestnut coloured hair nervously, before glancing at Soar, who was realising how interesting her fingernails were "Or, if you don't want to join us, at least let me introduce them to you?"

"No, and no." Carys replied bluntly "I have a date with Mr. Marley , Mary Joanna and Black Ops tonight."

Angel sighed, her temper rising. Carys was just being ridiculous now! Soar put a hand on Angel' shoulder to calm her down, shaking her head.

The Welsh girl was an impossible case, and Angel had already decided that regardless if she wanted to, Carys would be meeting Near, Matt and Mello. Sighing again, Angel, along with Soar turned and left the room, closing the door after them "Fine. Do as you wish."  
All they received in reply was a grunt.

–

It seemed like the afternoon flew past, and before either of them knew it, Near, Matt, Mello, and Soar's fiancé, L were due to arrive in less than ten minutes.  
Angel was darting around, trying to make everything seem perfect over Carys' blaring music, and Soar was adding the finishing touches to dinner. When the doorbell finally rang, Angel squeaked in surprise, before patting down her skirt one more time and heading to answer it.

"Hi!" she smiled breathlessly as she invited the group in, placing a chaste kiss on Near's cheek as he passed her. L made a beeline straight to Soar, and the blonde and redhead behind them trudged inside; the redhead looking extremely annoyed. Angel looked over at him, blinking in confusion "What's up with him?"

"He met some girl and she hasn't text him," Mello, the blonde snickered. Matt growled and slapped him over the head, muttering profanities under his breath, whilst playing around with his iPhone. Mello smirked at his friend, before turning back to Angel "So let's introduce him to your friend and make him get over this imaginary girl!"

Angel chuckled nervously "Are you sure? She's in a pretty bad mood, don't know if you can tell over this noise..."

"She apparently has good music taste, anyway," Matt grumbled, his green eyes still not leaving the iPhone screen "Sure, whatever, go for it. I don't care."

"I'll uh...I'll just go and get L and Soar..." Angel scurried off to find them, and found them cuddling in the kitchen "They wanna meet her now. I need all the support I can get."

"Come on then," Soar nodded slowly, taking L's hand and a deep breath, as all six of them headed upstairs and stood in front of the door. The music seemed to sting the ears of everyone but Matt, who was now looking up curiously as Angel slowly pulled the door open.  
The room was dark and stank of weed, that much Matt knew, but the game on the TV screen caught his attention. A girl...playing Black Ops?

"Dude, what the fuck ar-" Carys turned around, and suddenly stopped when her eyes found Matt "I mean...hey."

A dark blush crept across her face, and Matt stared in shock. It was her! "Hey you..."

"I'm sorry I didn't text you...I lost your number..." She smiled awkwardly and everyone seemed to take a step back, and Matt just smiled, watching her fidget with the pink Playstation controller nervously, before turning her music down low "I felt really bad and I planned on going out this weekend to see if I could find you again."

"It's okay," he moved closer into the room, spying the black controller on the table. The others had left, leaving the two alone. Games didn't interest anyone else, and both Mello and Near knew if Matt started playing Black Ops, they wouldn't see him all night "Mind if I play with you?"

"Of course not," Carys grinned, switching on the controller and passing it to him "It'll be awesome having someone else to play with."  
Neither Matt or Carys left the room all night.

–

After L, Mello and Near had left (Matt was staying with Carys for a while), Soar and Angel were discussing the little bombshell that'd been dropped earlier, on the airy patio.

"How could she! I mean, really, Soar! Of all the guys, she picks Matt!" Angel seethed, downing her glass of wine in mere seconds. Soar blinked, and sighed, watching Angel carefully "I know what she's like! She'll screw everything up with Matt, and that'll end up screwing everything up between me and Nate!"

"But Angel, she's different," Soar added meekly "When does Carys ever stutter and blush in front of anyone? Especially men? Think about it...When is our Car ever shy, hmm?"

"I guess..." Angel finally added, sighing "I'll give her a chance, but if she screws up, I will kill her."  
Soar simply nodded, praying things would go right.


	3. Could You Be Loved?

Carys was staring at the smoke hanging around her room, when Soar and Angel burst in. She looked up, smiled lopsidedly and waved "Hi!"  
Soar's eyes raked across Carys' bed suspiciously. She had a pouch of tobacco, a few papers lying around, with a full packet near by, and of course...a sizeable amount of marijuana. Soar had never minded Carys smoking the stuff; Angel however was only just getting used to it. No one dared ask where she got it; both Soar and Angel worked within the police and law, and Soar was sure that the police department was how she got her hands on the stuff.

"Hi..." Angel muttered, scrunching her nose up at the heavy smoke. Carys just grinned towards Angel's obvious discomfort and took another long drag on her joint.

"Welcome to my humble abode , mi amigos, how may I help you?" Carys smiled and sat up straight, looking at her two best friends. Soar produced a posh looking letter and gave it to her friend, whilst Carys laid her smoke in the ashtray, and looked over the letter excitedly.

"It's from Wammy's." Soar watched her friend carefully, before glancing at Angel "It's from Quillish himself."

Carys was busy tearing open the envelope and reading the letter. Her eyes widened and a huge grin split across her face as she read "No way! I've been awarded my letter for my services during the Yotsuba case! Oh my god, this is awesome! Apparently my hacking, undercover work and my logical thinking during the Yotsuba case was that good! I'm finally gonna be C!"

Both Angel and Soar grinned and jumped onto her and hugged her. Both had already earned theirs, and were overjoyed Carys had finally earned her own.

"Well done Car!"

"I knew you could, Car! I'm so proud of you!"

"Hang on." Carys stopped "It says here there's two people being presented with letters. Me...and another...I can only remember you guys, L and Near from the orphanage, no one else. Not even this Mello dude you guys always go on about? Is that the guy who was with Matt? I don't know. Anyway, how dare someone else be awarded alongside me! That's totally supposed to be MY night!"

"You'll never change, will you?" Angel giggled, and Carys shook her head, pouting.

" Well! It's not fair! It's _my_ letter ceremony! No one elses!" she sighed, shaking her head "Quillish needs his ass kicked..."

"Are you going to tell Matt?" Soar asked, looking at Carys carefully. Carys looked up, smiled, then snorted,

"Fuck no. He wouldn't understand. I'm a genius, apparently, and I was brought up in a genius farm. He doesn't need to know that." Soar went to protest, but Angel shook her head. Carys was really too stoned, and she'd argue back. She'd remember Matt from Wammy's eventually, and Angel supposed that Carys' memory loss was probably worsened by that damn marijuana.  
When Angel looked up, Carys was busy rolling herself another, and with that, she and Soar left the room.

Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Matt looked up at Mello, letter in his hand "They're giving me my letter, apparently someone else is getting theirs too."

"That's good," Mello half smiled "you gonna tell lover girl?"

"No," Matt said, stuffing the letter into the kitchen drawer, and walking towards the door, his car keys in his hand "I'm going to see her. Not a word about that, and I mean it. No one needs to know about that."

The blonde rolled his eyes, knowing why Matt was probably headed over there, other than to see her "Whatever you say, dickhead, and the pizza is in the fridge. And be careful, for fucks sake."

"Yeah, yeah," Matt snickered as he walked out of the door "Goodbye, Mello."

And with that, Matt was gone with the bang of the door and roar of the car's engine down the quiet road. Mello sighed, and shook his head, before heading back upstairs and into his bedroom.

It didn't really take long for Matt to arrive at the girls' shared house near the centre of Winchester, and as he parked his red Ford and jumped out, locking it behind him, he felt a little nervous walking up to the door and took a deep breath before knocking.  
It was Soar who answered "Hi, Matt. She's up in her room, just go on up."

"Thanks," he smiled, heading upstairs and knocking on her bedroom door.

"Come in," she giggled, obviously under the influence, and Matt followed her in, waving away the smoke in front of him "I didn't realise you were coming over, so I was smoking."

"Got any left?" Matt asked, half-curious as he sat down on her bed. Carys nodded, rolling her eyes, holding up the not-so-small bag. A huge grin split across Matt's face as he picked up the Playstation controller "Baked, then I'll take us to McDonalds?"

"That sounds awesome." Carys nodded in agreement, sticking three cigarette papers together for her deck "You could always just crash here too."

"Plan." Matt agreed, nodding.

–

Needless to say, McDonalds didn't happen. They both lay back on her bed, staring up at the ceiling, hands touching slightly. Matt turned his head to her, and smiling slightly. They'd been seeing each other for a few weeks now, and Matt was now certain that she was a keeper.  
That, and he'd grown quite attached to her.

"Hey...umm..."He wasn't sure how to start, and he was slurring his speech a little "I just...I'm no good with this shit..."

She looked back at him, amusement dancing in her eyes, and her eyebrow was raised "With what, exactly?"

"Well...y'know...I really like yeh..." his accent was thicker, with embarrassment or shyness, perhaps, but she blushed. It was too damn cute! "An' I just wondered what we were..."

"Are you asking me out?" she sat up, a smirk playing on her lips, as he too sat up, nodding his head and turning a shade of red "Well in that case, I say yes. I'll be your girlfriend."

Matt's head jerked up, and he had a smile on his face "Really!"

"Yes, idiot," she giggled, shaking her head. Matt edged closer and pulled her ontop of him, kissing her deeply.  
_Winning._


End file.
